They form a human chain in front of the Reichstag and chant anti-fascist slogans: according to the police, nearly 150,000 people are demonstrating in the center of Berlin against the far right and more than two hundred peaceful rallies are planned in the country.
“There are 300,000 of us in Berlin and tens of thousands in the streets across Germany and livestreaming.
You are crazy !
», declared for their part the organizers on X (formerly Twitter).
The square in front of the Reichstag, in the heart of the power district, was packed with people in the middle of the day.
Many people who were unable to access it were redirected to the banks of the Spree and to the side of the neighboring Tiergarten park.
In front of the Reichstag, where the deputies of the Bundestag sit, anti-Nazi flags were brandished by the crowd.
REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch REUTERS
“All together against fascism!”
», chanted the crowd followed live by a thousand people on YouTube.
“From the heart instead of hatred”, “Racism is not an alternative”, “Liberty Equality Fuck AfD”, in reference to the anti-migrant and anti-system party Alternative for Germany (Alternativ für Deutschland), we could read on the colorful signs of the demonstrators.
The 200 rallies planned in the country, as for several weeks, testify to the shock caused by the revelation on January 10 by the German investigative media Correctiv of a meeting of extremists in Potsdam, near Berlin, where, in November, a plan for mass expulsion of foreigners or people of foreign origin was discussed.
What consequences for the AfD?
Against a backdrop of economic slowdown and inflation, the AfD had continued to progress in the polls, a few months before three important regional elections in the east of the country.
However, she suffered an electoral setback on Sunday in the wake of demonstrations on an unprecedented scale in the country against her program, while she had seemed for months to be on an unstoppable upward dynamic.
“I don't know if these protests will have an effect on AfD voters, but it is important to give a signal, because humanity is disappearing in relationships between people and we need more humanity and respect for our differences,” Margret Hurth, a 53-year-old educator in Berlin, told AFP.
Jonas Schmidt, a train driver from Bremen, said that “we all need to give ourselves strength, not give up, because the AfD is strong and the idea is to intimidate us.
We are showing here that we are more numerous than them.”
Aurélie Filippetti: “No fatalism in the face of the extreme right”
The rally was organized by the “Hand in Hand” movement, which brings together nearly 1,800 organizations, including the Friday for Future organization and the citizen alliance Campact.
Martin Raue, a 38-year-old university professor, came from Sweden for the occasion: “I came to set an example.
I was born in Germany.”
Former French Minister of Culture Aurélie Filippetti posted a photo of a bridge where dozens of demonstrators are gathered.
She writes: “No fatalism in the face of the extreme right: a beautiful message for all of us!
»
In #Berlin, mass demonstrators converge on a new demonstration against the #AfD.
This is a formidable mobilization which is announced after the previous one which brought together 1.4M people.
No fatalism in the face of the far-right: a beautiful message for all of us!
🇩🇪🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/aTy75GYVAS
— Aurélie Filippetti (@aurelifil) February 3, 2024
The capital's law enforcement agencies said they had deployed 700 police officers on site.
Several metro and bus stations, including that of the Brandenburg Gate, were closed, said the BVG on X, the city's public transport management company, while traffic was disrupted in the Mitte district.
In Potsdam, capital of the neighboring state of Brandenburg, a human chain was formed around the Landtag building, according to local media.
#WirSindDieBrandmauer heute in #Potsdam mit einer doppelt- und dreifachen Menschenkette um den Brandenburger #Landtag pic.twitter.com/eMm9byr5ND
— Sabine Schicketanz (@S_Schicketanz) February 3, 2024
“Whether in Eisenach, Homburg or Berlin: in towns and cities across the country, many citizens are coming together to demonstrate against forgetting, against hatred and incitement to hatred this weekend Also.
A strong sign for democracy and our Constitution,” Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on X on Saturday morning.
“The AfD is developing increasingly radical forces.
It is a profoundly far-right party.
I am literally shaken every time I hear this hate speech,” said Markus Söder, the Bavarian leader of the CSU, in the Rheinische Post newspaper.
“Where are we in Germany when a government calls for a demonstration against part of the population?
», For its part declared the AfD on X, denouncing a “campaign against the only real opposition party in Germany”.